Chudleys Classic review

Set against the typical adult dry food, which reaches our Good band, this recipe finishes a step lower, in our Average band. The result owes most to the label's habits, wheat out in front and a poultry term that spans several birds, so nutritional balance reads Poor with protein and processing and transparency at Average. It is the scorecard of an old-fashioned ration rather than a red flag, and plenty of dogs have been fed happily this way for a very long time.

Ingredients, as declared: Whole grain wheat, poultry meal (min 14% chicken), Whole grain maize, Lamb meal, Chicken fat, Whole grain oats, Hydrolysed chicken,Distiller's maize grains, Unmolassed beet pulp, Yeast (source of mannan oligosaccharides), Prairie meal, Minerals, full fat linseed, Salmon oil, Seaweed, Blackcurrant, Rosemary, Pomegranate, Rosehips, Yucca schidigera, Beetroot

Whole grain wheat heads the list, followed by whole grain maize and oats further down. Whole grains keep more of their nutrients than refined ones, but wheat is also the grain most often linked to intolerance in dogs. Putting it first means it does a lot of the recipe's work. That puts the carbohydrate estimate at 51.5%, or 56.6% of dry matter, above the 46.2% typical for adult dry food.

The meat side is a committee. Poultry meal guarantees a minimum of 14% chicken but may include other birds, lamb meal adds a red-meat stream, and hydrolysed chicken is there as a palatant to make the biscuit taste of more. Plenty of dogs do well on a mixed-meat feed like this; it simply cannot tell you which animal to credit or blame.

Distiller's maize grains and prairie meal are by-products of maize processing. They are workmanlike protein and fibre sources typical of the kennel-feed tradition. Unmolassed beet pulp is a better citizen, providing steady fibre without added sugar.

The finishing touches are more modern. Full fat linseed and salmon oil bring omega 3, seaweed brings trace minerals, and a berry and botanical tail from blackcurrant to yucca seasons the recipe without driving it.

£2.11 a kilo, sold as a 14kg sack or a 2.5kg bucket.

Feeding a 15kg adult dog in moderate condition takes about 241 grams a day, based on roughly 840 kcal daily (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate), which comes out at £0.51 a day. The label's own range for dogs between 10kg and 25kg is 190 to 385 grams.